My thoughts on the Phillies season.

Results tagged ‘ Joel Pineiro ’

The Phils come back from a 4-0 deficit to end up defeating the Tigers, 7-5.

The Tigers took a 1-0 lead in the first as, with one man out, Eric Patterson hits a solo home run, his first home run of the spring. The Tigers then made it a 3-0 lead in the third as, with one man on, and with one man out, Patterson hits a two-run home run, his second home run of the spring and of the ballgame, knocking in Omir Santos, who had earlier singled. The Tigers added to their lead in the fourth as, with two men out, Don Kelly hits a solo home run, his first home run of the spring, giving the Tigers a 4-0 lead. The Phils started to come back in the sixth as, with two men on, and with one man out, Carlos Ruiz hits a three-run home run, his first home run of the spring, knocking in Lou Montanez, who had earlier singled, then stopped at second base on Laynce Nix’s single, and Cesar Hernandez, who was pinch running for Nix, who had just singled, cutting the Tigers’ lead down to 4-3. The Phils then tied the score at four-all in the seventh as, with two men on, and with one man out, John Mayberry, Jr. hits an RBI double, scoring Michael Martinez, who had earlier singled, then stopped at second base on Juan Pierre’s single, while sending Pierre, who had just singled, on to third base. The Phils then took the lead as Montanez hits an RBI single, scoring Pierre, giving the Phils a 5-4 lead, while sending Mayberry up to third base. The Phils then made it a 6-4 lead as Hernandez hits a sacrifice fly, scoring Mayberry. Two batters later, with two men on, and with two men out, Kevin Frandsen hits an RBI single, knocking in Montanez, who had reached second base on a David Pauley’s wild pitch, beating the throw to the plate, making it a 7-4 Phils’ lead, while sending Sebastian Valle, who had just walked, on to third base, before moving up to second base on the throw home. The Tigers would get a run back in the ninth as, with a man on second, and with nobody out, Patterson hits an RBI single, knocking in Quintin Berry, who had just doubled, cutting the Phils’ lead to 7-5. But, that would be the final score as Brian Sanches ended the game by getting Argenis Diaz to field out to center for the final out.

Roy Halladay received a no-decision as he went three innings, giving up three runs on four hits, while striking out four. Joel Pineiro pitched two innings, giving up a run on two hits, striking out a batter. Jeremy Horst (1-0, 0.00) picked up the win as he pitched an inning and two-thirds of shutout ball, giving up two hits, while striking out a batter. David Herndon picked up his first hold of the spring as he pitched an inning and a third of scoreless ball, giving up two hits and a walk. Brian Sanches recorded his first save of the spring as he pitched an inning, giving up a run on two hits, while striking out a batter. Max Scherzer also received a no-decision as he pitched three and one-third innings, giving up a hit and two walks, while striking out two batters. Adam Wilk recorded his second hold of the spring as he went two and a third innings, giving up three runs on four hits. Tyler Stohr recorded his first hold of the spring as he pitched a third of an inning, getting out the only man that he would face. David Pauley (1-1, 16.88) blew his first save attempt of the spring before taking the lost, as he pitched two-thirds of an inning, giving up four runs on five hits and two walks. Collin Balester pitched an inning and a third, giving up a hit. Daniel Schlereth pitched a scoreless inning, striking out a batter.

The Phils had eleven hits in the ballgame, with Lou Montanez leading the team with two hits (Singles, RBI). Juan Pierre (Single), Scott Podsednik (Single), John Mayberry, Jr. (Double, RBI), Hunter Pence (Single), Laynce Nix (Single), Carlos Ruiz (Home Run, 3 RBI), Kevin Frandsen (Single, RBI), Freddy Galvis (Single) and Michael Martinez (Single) had the other nine Phils’ hit. Cesar Hernandez knocked in the other Phil RBI with a sacrifice fly. Phils also had four walks and a stolen base (Podsednik) in the game.

The Phils (4-3) will continue with their spring training schedule tomorrow with an afternoon game at Bright House Field in Clearwater with the Orioles (3-2). The game will start at 1:05 pm EDT.

The Phils lost their second spring training game, losing once more to the Yanks, 7.4.

The Phils started the game off by taking the lead in the first inning as, with a runner on second, and with one man out, Hunter Pence hits a two-run home run, his second home run of the spring, scoring Scott Podsednik, who had earlier singled, then stole second base, giving the Phils a 2-0 lead. The Yankees got a run back in their half of the first as, with two men out, Alex Rodriguez hits a solo home run, his first home run of the spring, making it a 2-1 Phils’ lead. The Yanks then tied the game up at two-all in the third as, with the bases loaded, via singles by Robinson Cano and Rodriguez, with Cano stopping at second base, a 6-5 force out by Mark Teixeira, wiping out Cano at third, because the ball that had originally headed towards left field had been blown back by the wind to drop in front of shortstop Freddy Galvis, with Rodriguez stopping at second base on the play and Texieira reaching first, and Andruw Jones being hit by a pitch, moving both Rodriguez and Texieira up a base, and with two men out, Francisco Cervelli walked, forcing in Rodriguez, while sending Texieira up to third base, and moving Jones on to second base. The Yankees took the lead in the fourth as, with one man on, and with two men out, Justin Maxwell, who had earlier reached first base on a fielding error by third baseman Ty Wigginton, then went up to second base on a 4-3 ground out by Derek Jeter, scored on a fielding error by Michael Martinez on a Cano grounder, giving the Yanks a 3-2 lead. The Yanks then made it a 4-2 lead as Rodriguez hits an RBI double, knocking in Cano. The Phils cut the lead down to 4-3 in the sixth as, with a man on second, and with two men out, Galvis hits an RBI double, knocking in Martinez, who had just doubled. The Yanks got the run back in the seventh as, with one man on, and with nobody out, Jose Gil hits an RBI double, knocking in Corban Joseph, who had reached base on a Dom Brown fielding error, stopping at second base, making it a 5-3 Yanks’ lead. Two batters later, with a runner on third, as Gil had moved on to third base on a Phillippe Aumont wild pitch, and with one man out, the Yanks made it a 6-3 lead as JR Murphy hits an RBI single, knocking in Gil. Two batters later, after Zoilo Almote had sent Murphy to third with a single, and with two men out, the Yanks made it a 7-3 lead as pinch hitter Jayson Nix hits an RBI single, scoring Murphy, while sending Almonte on to third. The Phils got a run back in the eighth as, with a runner on third, and with one man out, Hector Luna hits an RBI ground out, 4-3, knocking in Lou Martinez, who had earlier hit a ground-rule double, then went to third on Dom Brown’s ground out, 3-1, making it a 7-4 Yanks’ lead. That would be the final score as Chase Whitley ended the game by striking out Pete Orr, swinging.

Roy Halladay got a no-decision as he pitched two innings, giving up a run on two hits, while striking out three. Joel Pineiro (0-1, 4.50) took the lost as he went two innings, giving up three runs on three hits and a walk. David Purcey and Antonio Bastardo combined for two scoreless innings, walking a batter (Purcey) between them. Phillippe Aumont pitched an inning, giving up three runs, only one of which was earned, on four hits, while striking out two. Joe Savery pitched a scoreless inning, walking two batters, while striking out two. Freddy Garcia also received a no-decision as he went two innings, giving up two runs on four hits, while striking out two. D.J. Mitchell (1-0, 0.00) got the win as he pitched two scoreless innings, giving up two hits and a walk. Boone Logan recorded his first hold of the spring as he pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit, while he struck out two. Cory Wade received his first hold of the spring as he pitched an inning, giving up a run on two hits, striking out a batter. Clay Rapada recorded his first hold of the spring as he pitched a 1-2-3 inning, striking out a batter. Kevin Whelan pitched an inning, giving up a run on one hit, while striking out a batter. Chase Whitley recorded his first save of the spring as he pitched a scoreless inning, giving up two hits, while striking out a batter.

The Phils had twelve hits in the game, with Dom Brown (Single, Triple) and Freddy Galvis (Single, Double, RBI) leading the team with two hits each. Tyson Gillies (Single), Hunter Pence (Home Run, 2 RBIs), Scott Podsednik (Single), John Mayberry Jr. (Double), Michael Martinez (Double), Tuffy Gosewisch (Single), Juan Pierre (Single) and Lou Montanez (Double), had the other ten Phils’ hits, while Hector Luna knocked in the other Phils’ run with an infield ground out.

The Phils (0-2) next grapefruit league game will be against the Yankees tomorrow afternoon at Bright House Field in Clearwater, Fla. The game will start at 1:05 pm EST.

The Phils have appeared to have added to their pitching depth by signing Joel Pineiro to a minor league contract, with an invitation to Spring Training.

Pineiro, who in 2011 pitched for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, appeared in 27 games, 24 of which were starts, compiling a 7-7 record with a 5.13 ERA. Being in the majors since 2000, pitching for the Mariners, Red Sox, and Cardinals, along with the Angels, Pineiro has pitched in 335 games, with 263 of them as starts, with a record of 104-93 with 2 saves in 3 save opportunities, with an ERA of 4.41.

It is more than likely that Pineiro will start the year with the Iron Pigs, as an extra insurance policy for the team in case one of the starters get injured during the regular season.

J.A. Happ loses his first career start, thanks to the Cardinals’ hitter being lucky with their hits as the Phils lose to the redbirds, 8-1. Their lead over the Braves and the Marlins is now at five and a half games as both teams win their games.

The Cardinals took a 1-0 lead in the second as, with a runner on third, and two men out, Rick Ankiel hits an RBI single, scoring Matt Holliday, who had earlier hit an infield single, stole second base and then moved on to third on Ryan Ludwick’s ground out, 6-3. The game, after a rain delay, became a pitchers’ duel between Phils’ starter J.A. Happ and Cardinals’ starter Joel Pineiro until the sixth inning, when the Cardinals were able to beat up on Happ with bleeders. The Cardinals increased their lead as, with two men on, and nobody out, Holliday hits an RBI single, knocking in Mark DeRosa, who had earlier singled, and had gone to second on Albert Pujols’ single, giving the Cardinals a 2-0 lead, while sending Pujols to third. One batter later, Ryan Ludwick made it 3-0 Cards as he hits an RBI single, knocking in Pujols. On the play, Holliday is thrown out at third for the inning’s first out, 7-5, as he tried to move up to third, while Ludwick would move up to second base on the throw. Yadier Molina would make it a 4-0 Cardinals’ lead with an RBI single, scoring Ludwick. Ankiel made it a 5-0 Cards’ lead with an RBI double, knocking in Molina, before Ankiel would move up to third on the throw to the plate. The redbirds would make it 6-0 in the seventh as, with a man on third, and noone out, DeRosa hits a sacrifice fly, scoring Julio Lugo, who had earlier tripled. The Cards made it 7-0 as, with the bases loaded, via a walk to Pujols, a double by Holliday, that sent Pujols to third base, and a walk to Molina, with two men out, Ankiel hits an RBI single, knocking in Pujols, while moving both Holliday and Molina up a base. The Phils would finally score in the bottom half of the seventh, as, with a runner on third and two men out, Jayson Werth, who had earlier singled, had moved up to second on Pedro Feliz’s single, and had gone to third on Carlos Ruiz’s double play ball, 6-4-3, wiping out Feliz at second base, would score on a wild pitch, with Matt Stairs batting, making it 7-1 Cardinals. In the eighth, Lugo, with one man out, would make it 8-1 Cards by hitting a solo home run, his second home run of the year. That would be the final score as the Phils would be unable to do anything in their last two times at-bat.

J.A. Happ took the lost, the first one of his young career, as he pitched six innings, giving up five runs on ten hits, while he struck out six. His record is now 7-1 as his ERA rises to 2.97. Tyler Walker pitched an inning, giving up two runs on three hits and two walks. Andrew Carpenter also pitched an inning, giving up a run on one hit, while he struck out one. Ryan Madson pitched a 1-2-3 inning. Joel Pineiro got the win as he also went six innings, giving up just four hits and a walk, while striking out three. His record is now 9-9, with an ERA of 2.95. Kyle McClellan pitched an inning, giving up a run on two hits, a walk and a wild pitch, as he struck out three. Dennys Reyes pitched a third of an inning, giving up two hits. Jason Motte pitched two-thirds of an inning, getting out the two batters that he would face. Brad Thompson pitched a scoreless inning, as he hit a batter and another reached base on an error before he recorded the game’s final out.

The Phils had eight hits in the game, with Shane Victorino, Ryan Howard and Carlos Ruiz leading the team with two hits each. Jayson Werth and Pedro Feliz would get the other two Phils’ hits. The Phils had no RBIs as their only run came in on a wild pitch. The Phils were unable to knock in a run, although they had several scoring attempts.

The Phillies (54-40, 1st National League East) will continue their three-games series with the Cardinals (53-46, 1st National League Central) with an afternoon game that will be televised nationally by Fox Sports. The game will be played at Citizens Bank Park and will begin at 4:05 pm. Eastern. The Phils will send to the mound Rodrigo Lopez (2-0, 2.60), who is coming off a win against the Cubs on July 20, as he pitched six innings, giving up a run on five hits and three walks, as he struck out five, in the Phils’ 10-1 win. He will be trying for his third win, hoping to make things difficult for the Phils when Pedro Martinez has finished with his rehab assignment. The Cardinals will counter with Kyle Lohse (4-6, 4.21), who is coming off a lost against the Astros, as he pitched seven innings, giving up three runs on five hits and three walks, while striking out five, in the Cards’ 3-2 lost. He will be trying to improve his record and end his personal three games losing streak, while trying to continue his good record against the Phils. The Phils will be out to tie the series, while putting up a winning home stand before they go out once more onto the road.

Behind the pitching of Cole Hamels and the offense, the Phils continue their recent winning ways at home as they defeat the Padres in a make up game for an earlier rain out, 9-4. They increase their lead in the NL East to six and a half games over both the Braves and the Marlins.

The Phils took the lead in the second as, with a runner on second, and nobody out, Pedro Feliz hits an RBI single, scoring Jayson Werth, who had earlier doubled, giving the Phils a 1-0 lead. Three batters later, with one man on and two men out, Jimmy Rollins hits an RBI double, knocking in Phils’ starter Cole Hamel, who had earlier reached base on a force out, 2-6, of his sacrifice bunt attempt to move Carlos Ruiz to second, who had earlier hit into a force out, 5-4, wiping out Feliz at second base, making it a 2-0 Phils’ lead. Two batters later, after Shane Victorino is hit by the pitch, Chase Utley would make it 3-0 Phils as he hits an RBI single, scoring Rollins, while moving Victorino up to second base. The Phils would make it 4-0 in the third as Feliz hits a single, which Padres’ second baseman Oscar Salazar threw away, allowing Werth, who had earlier doubled, to score on the throwing error. The Padres would then try to make a come back in the fourth as, with one man on, and with two outs, Chase Headley hits an RBI double, knocking in Adrian Gonzalez, who had earlier walked, making it a 4-1 Phils’ lead. One batter later, Kyle Blanks cut the lead to 4-3 as he hits a two-run home run, his second home run of the year, knocking in Gonzalez. The Phils then went back to add to their lead in their half of the fourth as, with runners on the corners, and with one man out, Ryan Howard hits an RBI single, knocking in Rollins, who had earlier walked, stole second and then move to third on Victorino’s ground out, 3-unassisted, making it a 5-3 Phils’ lead, while sending Utley, who had just walked, to second base. Raul Ibanez then followed with a two-run double, knocking in both Utley and Howard, to make it a 7-3 Phils’ lead. With their RBIs, both Howard and Ibanez reached 70 RBIs, tying themselves for the team lead in that category. The Phils would then take an 8-3 lead as Werth would hit an RBI single, bringing home Ibanez. The score would become 9-3 Phils in the seventh as, Ruiz hits a lead-off home run, his fifth home run of the year. The Padres would get a run back in the eighth as, with one man on, and one out, Everth Cabrera hits an RBI single, scoring Tony Gwynn, Jr., who had earlier doubled, making it a 9-4 Phils’ lead. But that would be the final score as Chan Ho Park would pitch a quick 1-2-3 ninth.

Cole Hamels got the win as he pitched seven inning, giving up three runs on four hits and a walk, as he struck out six. His record is now 6-5 with an ERA of 4.66. Andrew Carpenter pitched a third of an inning, giving up a run on two hits and walk. Chan Ho Park pitched an inning and a half of scoreless ball, striking out one. Kevin Correia took the lost as he went three and a third innings, giving up eight runs on nine hits and three walks, as he struck out two. His record is now 6-8 with an ERA of 4.84. Mike Ekstrom pitched two and two-thirds scoreless innings, giving up only two hits and a walk, as he struck out three. Edward Mujica pitched a third of an inning, giving up a run on three hits. Joe Thatcher pitched an inning and a third, striking out three.

The Phillies’ offense had fourteen hits in the game, with Jayson Werth and Pedro Feliz leading the way by each collecting three hits, followed by Jimmy Rollins, and Shane Victorino with two hits each. Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Raul Ibanez and Carlos Ruiz got the other four Phils’ hit, with Ruiz’s hit being a solo home run. Besides Ruiz’s RBI, Ibanez knocked in two runs, while Rollins, Utley, Howard, Werth and Feliz each knocked in a run. The Phils had their second straight ten-plus hits games after being kept silent on Tuesday night, as Howard and Ibanez both knocked in their 70th RBI of the year, while Utley missed out on joining them when he hits into a force out with two men on base in the seventh.

The Phillies (54-39, 1st National League East) will continue their so far successful home stand with a three-games series with the Cardinals (52-46, 1st National League Central), starting tonight. The game will be played at Citizens Bank Park and will start at 7:05 pm Eastern. The Phils’ starter will be J.A. Happ (7-0, 2.68), who is coming off of a win against the Marlins on July 19, where he went seven shut out innings, giving up just five hits and a walk, and struck out one, in the Phils’ 5-0 win. He will be going for his eight win of the year while putting up his name as a candidate for the NL Rookie of the Year. The Cardinals will counter with Joel Pineiro (8-9, 3.09), who is coming off a win against the D-backs on July 19, as he pitched seven strong innings, giving up on one run on five hits, as he struck out three, in the Cardinals’ 2-1 win. He will be trying to even his record, while trying to keep the Phillies’ offense quiet. The Phillies will be going for another series win as their try to improve their winning record at home before going once more onto the road.

Brett Myers pitches his second straight strong outing, while the Phillies rally late to score four runs in the eight to take the lead, then they would hang on to win, as the Phillies defeat the Cardinals, 5-4. With the win, they would increase their lead in the East to two and a half games as the Marlins lose to the Rockies. The Cardinals would score the first run in the second, as Troy Glaus would hit a RBI single, scoring Ryan Ludwick, who has doubled earlier, to give the Cardinals a 1-0 lead. The Cardinals would increase their lead to 2-0 when Ludwick would hit a solo home run in the fourth, his twenty-seventh home run of the year. The Phillies would cut the Cardinals’ lead to 2-1 in the sixth, as Chase Utley would hit a solo home run of his own, his twenty-eighth home run of the year. The Phillies would finally light up the Cardinals’ bullpen in the top of the eighth. With one out, and Kyle McClellan pitching, Jayson Werth would get on base with a single. McClellan would be replaced by Jaime Garcia. He would get Utley to hit into a force out, first to the shortstop, wiping out Werth at second for the second out. Ryan Howard would follow him with a single, sending Utley to second. Garcia is then replaced by Russ Springer. The Phillies would then go to work. Pat Burrell would greet Spriger with a single, scoring Utley and sending Ryan to second to make it 3-2 Cardinals. Shane Victornio would then take Garcia deep with a three-run home run, his tenth home run of the year, to give the Phillies a 5-2 lead. Greg Dobbs would then ground out to end the inning. The Cardinals then try to rally back in their half of the eighth. With one out, Brendan Ryan, who has gotten on base earlier with a pinch hit single, moved to second on a J.C. Romero’s balk, and then went to third on a ground out, would score on a Howard’s fielding error of pinch hitter Nick Stavinoha’s grounder, making it a 5-3 Phillies’ lead. After Romero hits Joe Mather with a pitch to put runners on first and second, he is replaced by Ryan Madson. Madson would then proceed to walk Albert Pujols to load the bases. With Ludwick now batting, Madson would get him to hit into a 5-4-3 double play to end the inning, the third one that the Phillies would get in as many innings. In the ninth, the Phillies would give the ball to Brad Lidge to get the save. The first batter he would face, Glaus, would greet him with a solo shot to left for his nineteenth home run of the year, to cut the lead down to 5-4. After getting Yadier Molina to fly out, the next three Cardinals would get on base with a single (Aaron Miles), a pinch hit single (Rick Ankiel) and a hit batter (Cesar Izturis) to load the bases, with Joel Pineiro pinch running for Ankiel. But Lidge would then buckle down and strike out Stavinoha and Mather to end the game as he records his twenty-eighth save.

Brett Myers would get a no-decision as he pitches his second straight quality start as he goes six innings, giving up only two earned runs on four hits. Chad Durbin would get the win as he pitch an inning plus a batter, as he gives up an earned run on two hits. His record is now 4-2 with a ERA of 1.77. J.C. Romero would pitch a third of an inning, giving up no runs on no hit and a hit batter. Ryan Madson would go two-thirds of an inning, giving up no runs on no hits and a walk. Brad Lidge would record his twenty-eighth save in as many tries, as he gives up an earned run on three hits and a hit batter, while striking out two. Todd Wellemeyer would also get a no-decision, as he goes six innings plus a batter, giving up an earned run on four hits. Ron Villone would pitch a third of an inning, giving up no runs on no hits. Kyle McClellan would pitch an inning, giving up an earned run on a hit. Jaime Garcia would receive the lost, as he goes a third of an inning, giving up an earned run on a hit. His record is now 0-1 with a ERA of 4.00. Russ Springer would commit his second blown save, as he goes a third of an inning, giving up two earned runs on two hits. Ryan Franklin would pitch a scoreless inning, giving up no hit.

The Phillies’ offense is once again unable to unload on a Cardinals’ starter as Todd Wellemeyer would only give them four hits, although one would be a home run. But they would finally light up on the Cardinals’ weak bullpen, scoring four of their runs in an one inning outburst. In turn, their own bullpen would bend, but refused to break, when the Cardinals tried to regain the lead in the eight and win it in the ninth. It seems to me that it is now more important than ever that they get some help in the bullpen as long as Tom Gordon (who has just perform a minor league rehab stint) and Rudy Seanez (just placed on the DL) are both out. Yo, idiots, unloosen the purse strings, and get some help for the bullpen.

With tomorrow off, the Phillies (61-50) come back home to Philly with a two and a half games lead in the East as the Marlins lose to the Rockies. The Mets now trail by three games as they lost to the Astros. The Braves still trail by ten games as they defeated the Brewers. The Phillies, after coming home from a 5-1 road trip, will try to deliver an early one-two punch to the Marlins as the fish come in to Philadelphia for a three games series starting on Tuesday night.

Cole Hamels pitches a very good game as he only gives up three hits in seven innings of work. Unfortunately, two of those hits would be solo home runs. And even worst, the Phillies’ offense disappeared completely, as they got only six hits, as they lose their fourth straight game, falling to the Cardinals, 2-0. The game would be a pitchers’ duel between Hamels and Cardinals’ starter, Joel Pineiro, as the Phillies would squander a chance to take the lead in the second, while Hamels would keep the redbirds off-balanced. That is until the fifth, when Hamels gives up a solo home run to Rick Ankiel, his nineteenth home run of the year, giving the Cardinals a 1-0 lead. One inning later, with two men out, he would give up another solo home run, this one to Ryan Ludwick, his eighteenth home run of the year, to make it 2-0 Cardinals. That would be it, as the Phillies would be unable to mount much of an offense, as the batters would blow a rally in the seventh. Ryan Franklin would pitch the ninth, recording his twelfth save of the year.

Cole Hamels would take the lost, in spite of pitching seven innings of three hit ball as he gives up two earned runs. Ryan Madson and Brad Lidge would both pitch a scoreless inning, giving up a hit each. Joel Pineiro would pitch six and one thirds innings of shut out ball, giving up only five hits. Ron Villone would pitch two-thirds innings of scoreless, hitless pitching. Kyle McClellan would pitch a hitless, scoreless inning. Ryan Franklin would pitch a scoreless night as he gives up only one hit while recording his twelfth save of the year.

Once again, the offense vanishes after showing a sign of life the previous day. This is getting to be a real annoyance. The Phillies are suppose to be one of the best runs producing teams in baseball, but I sometimes wonder if its really is, considering how much they seem to prefer letting their big men do all of their scoring and not even show a willingness to do some small ball. What is it with this team and creating runs when the big men can’t seem to get going? Are they afraid of looking like an ordinary team? If they are, then shame on them. They need to get off their individual high horses and start playing some small ball, and in that way put some pressure on the defense. Otherwise, start saying hello to the Nationals if they keep playing like this.

The Phillies (48-43) continue their three games series with the Cardinals (51-40, 2nd National League Central), with a night game at Citizens Bank Park. The game will start at 7:05 pm Eastern. The Phillies’ starter will by rookie J.A. Happ (0-0, 3.86), who is coming off a no-decision against the Mets on July 4, where he pitched four and two-thirds innings, giving up two earned runs on three hits, in the Phillies’ 3-2 victory. He will be trying for his first major league victory while seeing if he will be able to pitch good enough to stay in the majors. The Cardinals will counter with rookie Mark Mulder (0-0, 13.50), who is making his first start of the year, after spending time in the bullpen. His last appearace, on July 2 against the Mets, he would only go a third of an inning, giving up two earned runs on two hits. He will be seeing if he can do well as a starter, while trying to keep the Phillies’ bats quiet.

The lost leave the Phillies with a one game lead over the Marlins, who are presently losing to the Padres. Their lead over the Mets is now at a game and a half as the Mets crushed the Giants. The Phillies lead the Braves by five and a half games, as they are presently involved in a scoreless game with the Dodgers. The Phillies will once again try to find out where their defense have disappeared to so that they can get back to winning and leading their division.

Edit: The Phils lead is still at a game and a half as the Marlins are defeated by the Padres. The defeat now placed the Marlins in a tied for second with the Mets. Wheee I say in sarcastically. Come on offense, wake up, blast it!!!!

The Phillies (48-42) will start a three games series with the Cardinals (50-40, 2nd National League Central) at Citizens Bank Park. The first game of the series will be played tonight, beginning at 7:05 pm Eastern. The Phillies will send to the mound their ace, Cole Hamels (9-5, 3.22), who has won his last start against the Braves on July 3, just missing his third complete game shut out. Hamels would instead pitch eight and two-thirds innings, as he gives up only one earned run on five scattered hits, in the Phillies’ 4-1 win. He has won his last two starts, giving up five earned runs on eleven hits as he pitched a combined total of fifteen and two-thirds innings. He will be gunning for his tenth win of the season, while hoping to end the Phillies’ present slide, as well as trying to give a tired, presently depleted bullpen a well needed rest. The Cardinals will counter with Joel Pineiro (2-4, 4.52), who is coming off a no-decision against the Mets on July 2, where he went five innings, giving up four earned runs on eleven hits, in the Cardinals’ 8-7 win. Pineiro will be looking for his first victory since April 29, while the Cardinals’ hope that he will be able to keep them in the game against a probably angry Phillies team.

The Phillies’ offense last night seem to have recovered their hitting stroke, but they will need to start scoring runs in the early innings, while the starters will need to stop giving up runs in those same early innings so that their batters won’t have to be chasing after their opponents after falling behind. Hopefully, Hamels will give the Phillies a very well needed shot in the arm.

The Phillies’ lead against the Marlins has now shrunk down to a game and a half, as the fish prepare for the second of their three games with the Padres. The Mets will now start a three games series with the Giants in New York, as they now trail the Phillies by two and a half games. The Braves still trail the Phils by six games as they continue their three games series with the Dodgers. The Phillies will now be trying to win the last two series of their home stand before the All-Star break, hoping that they will get some help from the teams in the National League West who are now playing against their divisional opponents, while at the same time hoping to improve their lead in their division while becoming more consistant team.

The Phillies lose their third straight game to the Mets as a late inning rally would fall short as they could not overcome an early deficit, losing 10-9. The Phillies’ starter, Adam Eaton, would only be able to go two and two-thirds innings as he is roughed up by the Mets’ batters, who were coming off a high left over from their win on Sunday. The damage would begin in the very first inning, as Jose Reyes, who has gotten on base earlier with a single and have moved to third on Endy Chavez’s single, would score the first Mets’ run on a David Wright ground out, second to first, to give the Mets a 1-0 lead, while Chavez would go to second on the play. Two batters later, with Chavez on third and with two outs, a Damion Easley would score Chavez, making it 2-0 Mets. The Mets would increase their lead in the second, when, with two men on and two outs, Chavez would hit a RBI single, scoring Brian Schneider, who has gotten on base earlier during a force out, giving the Mets a 3-0 lead. A Wright double would make it 5-0, as he knocks in Reyes, who has earlier walked and Easley. The Mets would then chase Adam Eaton out of the game in the third inning. With one out, and with runners on the corners, Schneider would ground out short to first for out number two, while scoring Carlos Delgado, who has earlier doubled, to make it a 6-0 Mets’ lead. Pedro Martinez would then reach base on a Greg Dobbs’ fielding error, allowing Fernando Tatis, who has earlier singled, to score, making it 7-0 Mets. Two batters later, Chavez would single in Martinez, making it 8-0. Clay Condrey would relieve Eaton and would finally end the inning by getting Wright to fly out. The Phillies would get a run back in the fourth as Chase Utley would hit his major league leading twenty-fifth home run of the year off of Mets’ starter Martinez, a solo shot, which would make it 8-1 Mets. The Mets would then increase their lead in the sixth, as they knocked in two runs off of R.J. Swindle, who was pitching his first game after being recalled from Lehigh Valley to replace Tom Gordon in the bullpen. The first run would come in on a solo home run by Wright, his seventeenth home run of the year, to make it 9-1 Mets. Later, with the bases loaded, and two outs, Martinez would hit a RBI single, scoring Carlos Beltran, who has earlier singled, making it 10-1 Mets. But, that would be the last run that the Mets would score last night, as Shane Victorino throws out Easley at home plate, with Chris Coste supplying the tag, for the final out of the inning. From that point on, the Phillies would attempt a comeback. It would begin in the Phillies’ half of the sixth, as Pat Burrell would hit a solo home run, his twenty-second home run of the year, to make it 10-2 Mets. The Phillies would continue in the seventh, as Victorino would hit a RBI double, scoring Jimmy Rollins who has earlier singled, to cut the Mets’ lead to 10-3. Two batters later, Ryan Howard would hit his twenty-fourth home run of the year, scoring Victorino, on a ball that was originally called a ground rule double because of possible fan’s interference. But, after an agrument from Charlie Manuel, and a conversation among the umpires, the ruling was changed into a home run. This would in turn lead to an argument from Mets’ manager, Jerry Manuel, who would then be ejected from the game, as the Mets now lead the game 10-5. In the eighth, the Phillies would continue their comeback, as Geoff Jenkins would hit a two-run home run, his seventh home run of the year, scoring Jayson Werth, who has earlier singled, making it 10-7 Mets. Then in the ninth, with Billy Wagner on the mound, the Phils tried to send it into extra-innings. Victornio would start the inning off with a double, followed by a walk to Eric Bruntlett, with nobody out. After Howard strikes out and Burrell flies out to right, Pedro Feliz would hit a pinch single, scoring Victornio and sending Bruntlett to third, making it 10-8 Mets. On the play, Beltran would throw the ball away, as he tries to cut down Bruntlett at third, for an error, allowing Bruntlett to score and sending Feliz over to second base, as the Phillies now trail the Mets 10-9. But, that would be as close as the Phillies would get, as Wagner would get Werth to fly out to right to end the game, recording his twentieth save of the year.

Adam Eaton would take the lost, as he gets rocked for eight earned runs on ten hits as he is only able to go two and two thirds inning. His record is now 3-7 with a 5.20 ERA. Clay Condrey would pitch two and one third innings of scoreless ball, giving up just two hits. R.J.Swindle would pitch three innings of relief, giving up two earned runs on four hits. J.C. Romero would pitch a scoreless inning, giving up only one hit. Pedro Martinez would get the win, as he goes five and a third innings, giving up two earned runs on five hits. His record is now 3-2 with a 6.86 ERA. Tony Armas would go an inning and a third, giving up three earned runs on three hits. Aaron Heilman would also go an inning and a third, giving up two earned runs on two hits. Billy Wagner would pitch the ninth, recording his twentieth save of the season, as he gives up two earned runs on two hits.

The Phillies’ offense was once again stifled in the early going, while being put in the hole early by Adam Eaton’s bad start on the mound. But slowly it came back to life, scoring all but one of its runs in the last four innings, mostly by the long ball, as they, for the first time in a while, refused to quit, despite being buried early. It could mean the reemergence of the team that was finding ways to win games back in April and early May before the period when the team would seem to be able to score runs at will. If so, it would be coming not a moment too soon, as the Cardinals and then the Diamondbacks would be coming into town for the last two series before the All-Star break.

The Phillies (48-42) will start a three games set with the Cardinals (50-40, 2nd National League Central) at Citizens Bank Park. The first game of the series will be played tonight, starting at 7:05 pm Eastern. The Phillies’ starter will be their ace, Cole Hamels (9-5, 3.22), who has won his last start against the Braves on July 3, just missing out on his third complete game shut out. He would instead go eight and two-thirds innings, giving up only an earned run on five hits in the Phillies’ 4-1 win. He has won his last two starts giving up five earned runs on eleven hits as he pitched a combined total of fifteen and two-thirds innings. He will be gunning for his tenth win of the season, while hoping to end the Phillies’ present slide. The Cardinals will counter with Joel Pineiro (2-4, 4.52), who is coming off a no-decision against the Mets on July 2, as he would go only five innings, giving up four earned runs on eleven hits in the Cardinals’ 8-7 win. Pineiro will be looking for his first victory since April 29, while the Cardinals’ hope that he will keep them in the game against a probably angry Phillies team.

The Phillies’ lead over the Marlins has been cut down to one and half games, as the fish were able to defeat the Padres. The Mets are now trailing the Phillies by two and a half games. The Braves still trail the Phillies by six games as they lost to the Dodgers. The Phillies hope that last night’s comeback attempt, although a failure, could be the launch pad for a very productive period, as the Phillies look to find somebody, or rather somebodies, upon whom to take out their present offensive frustrations out on, while trying to once again take complete control of the East before the All-Star break.

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